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Well I blame Mike Lane, it was his idea, being one of the target birds he had listed for his two month photographic pilgrimage to Scotland.  Between us we had already checked about 6 Leks in Grampian, most of which were unsuitable.  Generally Black Grouse numbers are on the decline, so this could explain why some the Leks had been abandoned or held few cocks.  I have noticed that over 15 years of watching Black Grouse, Leks do wax and wane, depending on habitat change, disturbance and population numbers.  On the evening of Friday 14^th April we checked the final Lek known to us and were pleasantly surprised to find about 6 cocks present. When the cocks left we checked the Lek and chose a location on the eastern limit of the Lek as a suitable location for the hides. With a clear, frosty night forecast we agreed to meet at 0430hrs for a ‘session’.

For me, the Black Grouse is the most charismatic and photogenic of our British birds.  At dawn the males arrive at the Lek, each one defending its own small territory against neighbouring males.  The dominant male defends the centre of the Lek.   Activity peaks about mid-end April as the females start attending the Lek.

 So, the following morning, by moonlight, we carried the hides and our photographic equipment over ¼ of a mile to the Lek.  Timing proved to be spot on, no sign of the birds yet.  Hides were erected as quickly as possible and we were installed by 0450hrs waiting with great anticipation.  From experience, I had expected the arrival of the birds to be heralded by a ‘swoosh’ of wings as they all flew into the Lek. 

Not the case, at 0500hrs the cocks gradually emerged from the woodland and juniper bushes at the far side of the Lek.  Their presence largely determined from their rasping calls in the dark conditions.  It appeared that at least seven black shapes had taken up positions on the Lek.  I have found that Black Grouse take no notice of hides and will at times walk within a couple of feet of the hide.  I have even had females using it as a perch from which to watch the males.

The cocks are on the Lek at least on hour before the first rays of the sun hits the peaks of the surrounding mountains.  During this period, when activity is strongest, photography is virtually impossible.  Nevertheless, watching the whole range of displays, fights and activity at the Lek is, in itself, a tremendous privilege.  At this particular Lek the sun does not appear until about 2.5 hours after the cocks have arrived by which time the Lek is virtually over for the morning.  However, on clear, calm mornings, such as our first morning, the birds would stay longer so we got about 30-40 minutes of sun on them.  The following morning, which was grey and windy, the birds left just as the light hit the Lek!!.

Photography starts usually about an hour after the cocks have arrived and the light is improving.  Even then, the ISO on the digital camera is between 400 and 800 resulting in shutter speeds of around 1/200^th second at widest aperture.  This is made worse by the need to compensate by +1 stop in order to bring out details in the dark plumage of the cocks.  I estimated that the approximate diameter of the territory of the dominant male was 25 metres.  I found that my Canon 500mm lens was the best compromise, sometimes with the 1.4 converter and even with the 2.0 converter for head shots.  Of course sometimes, the displaying cock was just too big in the frame.  The 100-400mm zoom proved useful at times although rather too slow. 

The aim with modern versatile digital equipment is to try and capture new, exciting images of the birds jumping, calling, fighting, flying and mating.  Not all easy but worth the risk.  In the dull early light the auto-focus could not follow the birds when they flew a short distance, so the only successes were when the cocks flew parallel to the plane of focus.  Of course, once the sun arrived on the Lek the situation changed completely.  Suddenly the beautiful sheens in the plumage of the cocks were visible, the ISO could be reduced and the autofocus worked better. 

Mike and I repeated this venture for three mornings and were surprised that no females had entered the Lek.  However, on the fourth morning I was back at work and Mike had two females venture into the Lek.  The following weekend activity peaked with up to 11 cocks and 7 females present.  Unfortunately, the females always entered and left the Lek before the sun has risen.  In all I witnessed 4 copulations one of which took place just 25 feet in front of the hide, the dawn light required me set the ISO to 1600 and even this only allowed an exposure of 1/100^th at F5.6.  The final copulation which Dickie Duckett and I witnessed took place on Saturday 6^th June, when 3 cocks tried to mate at the same time with the hen.  Unfortunately this hen had a broken leg and as a result was rather nervous: interestingly the dominant cock was also now displaying a broken leg.

Tiring work? You bet, but I can’t wait for next spring.